TitleNews Online Archive

TitleNews Online Archive

ALTA Joins Effort to Limit Use of G-fees for Government Spending

March 14, 2017

ALTA and several other housing trade organizations declared support for an ongoing effort in Congress to permanently bar the use of funds raised from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's guarantee fees (g-fees) to cover federal spending in areas not related to mortgages.

In a letter to U.S. Reps’ Mark Sanford and Brad Sherman, ALTA thanked the congressman for reintroducing HR 916, the Risk Management and Homeowner Stability Act, which would amend the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to prohibit the use of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s g-fees to pay for government spending.

G-fees are a critical risk management tool used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to protect against losses from loans that default.

“Our organizations were deeply troubled when g-fees were raised back in 2011 to fund a two-month extension of payroll tax relief—a tax that homebuyers and owners will continue to pay until 2021,” the letter said. “Since then, whenever Congress has considered using g-fees to cover the cost of programs unrelated to housing, we’ve informed lawmakers that homeownership cannot, and must not, be used as the nation’s piggybank.”